1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an imaging apparatus and customer accessible supply item, and more particularly to a method for associating a customer accessible supply item with an imaging apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In prior art, an imaging apparatus is used to form an image on a print medium, such as paper, transparency, fabric, etc. The imaging apparatus may be, for example, a printer, a copier or a multifunction machine. Such an imaging apparatus includes a print engine for forming the image on the print medium. For example, an ink jet printer has an ink jet print engine for ejecting ink drops onto a print medium, and an electrophotographic (e.g., laser) printer has an electrophotographic (EP) print engine for applying toner to a print medium. Such a multifunction machine may include an ink jet print engine and/or an EP print engine, and is configured to perform stand alone functions, such as copying or facsimile receipt and transmission, or may be connected to a host via a communications link to facilitate a printing function.
A customer accessible supply item is a component used in or in association with the imaging apparatus that is depleted over time, and to which a customer has access for replacement or adjustment purposes. One type of customer accessible supply item, for example, is an imaging cartridge. An imaging cartridge is a replaceable cartridge configured for use in forming images on a print medium. Such an imaging cartridge may be, for example, a toner cartridge containing toner, a photoconductive drum, a toner cartridge/photoconductive drum combination, an ink cartridge containing ink, or an ink jet printhead cartridge containing ink and having an integral printhead. Other types of customer accessible supply items include, for example, a drive belt, a transport belt, a photoconductive belt, a print media supply tray, a fuser assembly, etc.